The Princess And The Red Bandit
by Faeriessence
Summary: "Alexandria. I never really noticed it before, but, there's something strangely surreal about her. I think you know that more than I do." She finally turned towards the man that had leaned in a little closer.


**So I have just recently watched this unique piece of art which is 'the Fall'. **

**Honestly, I wasn't sure of the direction of this one-shot but I just wanted to make it due to something I was rooting for. Now, after reading, you'd probably be asking why I would want anything between Roy Walker and Nurse Evelyn. I know that its typical and it would have distracted all of us from the truth behind this remarkable film but anyway, its a fanfiction. So yeah. Take it anyway you like.**

Nearly one and a half months had passed since she fell. Since that very day that brave little bandit had fallen.

She had paid the price for stealing the morphine he'd been dying to take. And the painful reminder is the bandages wrapped around her small head.

Roy had always regretted what he had done. Not because it was wrong but because in the process, his little friend got hurt. The stuntman had often thought of the incident and sometimes came across the nonexistent reality of Alexandria not being around anymore. It scared him a whole lot more than what had scared him in the recent months-with his job, his long gone love life and all.

For weeks, they were both on probation and were separated from each other. The longer it took, the more restless both Roy and Alexandria grew. At such time, Roy became persistent; begging the staff to allow the little girl to visit him, meanwhile Alexandria had also been trying to sneak out of her own ward.

Fortunately, time was all it took. Roy had eventually convinced them that Alexandria had been the one who saved him. Knowing this was true and that he no longer had the desire to kill himself, the hospital staff gave in.

So here she was, sitting next to him in his hospital bed, smiling her best smile with all that missing baby teeth. Roy admitted that he loved the little girl. And this little girl had finally given him a reason to live. It had devastated him when he saw his latest act and that his bold yet disastrous stunt had been cut off from the film, but, he let it go. Roy didn't want to think about negative things at the moment, especially not when Alexandria's reading to him some of her cut-out notes that she had been throwing into his window the past few weeks. The storyteller smiles and this time, it is him who is listening to the little girl's tall tales, not at all minding the others in the ward and not at all noticing the nurse that had been eyeing the pair for a few days now.

…

It was time for her shift.

She looked into the mirror and picked up the old lipstick she had always had with her. But before she rubbed her finger on the red thing to get a bit of the color, she realized that something, rather_, someone_ was missing.

Nurse Evelyn realized that she was alone in the nurse's quarters. Strange, but supposedly, Alexandria would have visited her today. She also noticed that the little girl no longer sent her any of her little letters.

It was no big deal really. Patients come and go; she shouldn't be all too concerned about this particular one.

Yet, she did grow fond of Alexandria, and the sudden distance between them made her curious. Before, the little daydreamer would do all she could to keep a good conversation but now, all there was between them were brief moments where they exchanged a few sentences; most of the time ending with Alexandria scampering off to the side of the building. Each morning, right on schedule, Evelyn would go check on the children's ward, just in time for her to catch the girl getting ready to go out the door every time.

"_Alexandria, no running. I don't want you to hurt your head again." She said, stopping Alexandria in her tracks. _

"_No, I won't. That was only one time. And it was soo dark." The tot insisted. She was jumpy, obviously eager to dash out of the ward that very moment. _

Evelyn did not bother to ask why at that time. But why didn't she? To put it simply, she didn't really care.

Being with the little girl had always been more or less, a routine. The nurse had met many others her age and Alexandria, well, she was just another patient to Evelyn. She did not like to think so, but she had taken their relationship for granted.

It was Alexandria who would go look for her and tell her to read her letters. The same little girl who would sneak into the staff's rooms and ask her a whole bunch of silly things and the same one who would ask her to hold her at night.

The abrupt separation got her thinking.

_That spunky child had always talked about a certain patient somewhere in the hospital._

Alexandria had mentioned a friend of hers in the other ward. Evelyn had once told her she would come and see this 'Roy'. But she never did. It was not a promise she expected herself to keep. At the time, it was just an effort to get the little girl to listen.

Looks like she'll be keeping that promise.

…

Evelyn decided to go into his ward. She was not stationed there but she easily blended with the nurses and residents who were. The young woman sneaks a peak at the pair that was busy talking and keeping to themselves. She made sure they would not notice, glancing once in a long while. The two would smile, laugh, and by the looks of it, _Roy_ was telling Alexandria stories. She could see it in the way his expression changes and the hand gestures he made. Evelyn couldn't help but smile to herself. It was a truly endearing site.

Yes, she had heard about the stuntmen and his tendencies, and about what he had made Alexandria do. She was not at all interested with the talks that went around the hospital but it was nice to think that the little girl was helping him recover and helping him cope with whatever problems he had to deal with.

…

Days passed and she had gone unnoticed. The nurse knew not to enter the room too often. She knew Alexandria would call her attention once the little girl spotted her. Evelyn had resulted to passing by the ward often, taking side glances at the window near Roy's bed.

_This was silly._

Evelyn had not the slightest clue as to why she was carrying out her observation. All she knew was that she was plain curious. Sometimes, she would stop in her tracks to listen to them, hidden by the window, and at some point, she wanted to hear the stories too, but she had duties to take care of.

For days, she kept a close eye at the two and not once did they notice.

But that was until she came into the ward with a group of staff and she had stared for too long.

She was helping out with the linen that needed changing for an incoming patient. She glanced up at the Alexandria and Roy who were casually lounging in his bed. The man was creating gestures that she could not decipher but it surely made the little girl smile widely. Her curiosity got the best of her and consequently, she did not go unnoticed this time.

It was Roy who saw her. His wide happy smile faded slightly when he saw her. Evelyn, who had been too drawn in to their inaudible conversation, was not so quick to hide her glance. She looked down and continued with the work then hurriedly finished and walked out, not looking back at the man who watched her leave.

That night, she was assigned to keep watch over the children's ward.

All the patients had been tucked in their beds, all except one. As usual, Alexandria was sitting up on hers and was looking out into the window.

"Alexandria, it's time to get some rest." Evelyn said, a little hesitant at first.

"Roy told me he saw you today." The little girl replied, still fixated at the farm outside.

Evelyn was surprised but smirked right after. " Yes. I was in his ward to help out with the other nurses." She smiled as she held the little girl's shoulders and pulled her into a sleeping position.

"Do you want to hear the stories too?" Alexandria said as she rubbed her eyes.

Evelyn smiled at her earnest offer. "Maybe some other time, alright? Right now, you should sleep so you're head will get better." She said as she gently held the little girl's chin. Alexandria simply nodded.

Then the nurse saw it. The child had so much spirit in her eyes, and a story behind them. It left Evelyn feeling perplexed. Her smile had faded into a straight line as their eyes locked.

This little girl had managed to change a man's life, or so she'd heard.

"You know, Roy is very lucky to have a friend like you." She silently spoke. The little girl who had nearly fallen asleep, turned her head up with a 'hm?'

"I mean, I've heard about how he's getting better because of you." She said as she smiled softly at Alexandria.

"But all we do is tell stories." She replied sleepily. Evelyn smiled wider. " You're a brave little girl Alexandria. But you got to also be more careful, little missy." She said, giggling in the end as gently placed a hand on the girl's head. Alexandria smiled and finally closed her eyes; giving Evelyn the chance to take her leave.

By the time she had reached the doorway, she looked back, seeing Alexandria facing the other way, but asleep.

"Evelyn."

The sound of his voice made her head turn but its familiarity did not surprise her. It was the doctor.

"Hey." She smiled softly and in turn so did he, right before he kissed her.

"You seem to like that little girl a lot." He broke off and leaned his forehead on hers.

" Her name." She looked at him and smiled. "Is Alexandria. She's a smart kid." Evelyn turned to look at the child and the bandages on her head. "In fact, too smart for her own good." She added, hinting a bit of remorse.

"Shouldn't you be doing rounds?" She turned to the doctor who only smiled.

"I've still got a few minutes." He replied as he held her close. With that, Evelyn kissed him once more.

…

For the next few days, Evelyn decided not to have anything to do with whatever the strange pair were up to. That was until one morning when nothing was short of chaotic.

A group of men had been rushed into the hospital and were taken to the emergency room. There had been an accident at a construction site. Although they were only a few, they had sustained severe injuries and the 1910s wasn't a time of quick and clean medical care. Almost all the doctors and nurses had to pitch in and the blood everywhere meant it was going to take a whole lot more than painkillers and medication.

"Ev!" A frantic nurse runs to her colleague in the porch outside the wards. Evelyn frowned in confusion as her co-worker walks up to her. "Wha-"

"It's a mess in the ER! I really got to go. Please, could you take these to Ward ten. Mister Watterson asked for some tea." Without waiting for a reply, the shaken nurse practically shoved the tray into her arms. "Oh, and take care of any leftovers!" She yelled as she ran. But as Evelyn opened her mouth to speak, the other nurse had already dashed out of sight.

_Ten? Isn't that…_

Left with no choice, Evelyn decided to do just as she was told.

…

As she entered the room, she sees the patient raising a skinny arm at her- a frail old man. Passing down the aisle, Evelyn looked to her right.

He had his eyes closed, with a book in his hand. Her guess was that he must've fallen asleep earlier, surprisingly, with all the buzz that's been going on in the other building.

"Thank you." The old patient whispered as she smiled, taking with her the tray and a plate of his leftovers.

Seeing that she had nothing left to do, the young nurse made her way towards the exit; holding the tray carefully in her arms.

"I don't see you come here often."

Startled by the out-of-nowhere remark, she had dropped the tray. "Shit." Wide eyed and a little embarrassed, Evelyn hurriedly picked up the things and apparently some of her dignity she had dropped along with them.

"Huh, I didn't know nuns could cuss." Evelyn scoffed as she heard him from behind her. Without looking, she could already imagine the lopsided smile and amusement.

"I'm not a nun. I'm just a nurse here." She said, quickly regaining composure. She stood up, stoic and rigid and turned towards the young man whose shoulders bounced up and down in silent laughter.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." Roy replied, still smiling.

"It's alright." She said nonchalantly. Evelyn quickly notices the empty china cup on his bedside and walks over to it. "May I?" After nodding in approval, Roy silently watched her pick up the ceramic and place it in the tray.

"So, where's Alexandria?" She said, looking down at her work.

"She went out to look for some more oranges." He replied.

"Well, I'll have to go look for her. We just ran out."

Evelyn who kept looking down for most of the time had just finished and was ready to leave.

"You've been watching us." He called out, much to her chagrin.

His straightforwardness had stopped her in her tracks and she silently scoffed.

"No, I wasn't." She turned around with a disbelieving smile.

"Yes. You were." Roy insisted. "Just a few days ago. I admit, you're good; I didn't know it for a while. But no other nurse comes here as often as you do, not counting the ones who are actually stationed here."

"How sure are you?" She tested him.

"Hundred percent. You're on the defensive here, plus you talk like I know you." Roy shrugged. At this point, he knew she could no longer come up with excuses.

"Hmph. Alright. So what if I've had?" She gave up and smirked.

"Nothing. Just wondering why." Evelyn looked down at his naïve expression then smiled lopsidedly.

" Actually, I was just curious as to why Alexandria had stopped giving me her letters. She also stopped talking to me. Just wanted to see what she's been up to."

"And you're worried?"

"No, just curious, is all. Is that a problem?" Evelyn replied as she took a seat at his bedside, looking at him with one brow raised. Roy smiled and shook his head.

"No, it's not."

She looked up and saw that he had returned to reading his book. Hesitantly, she spoke.

"Your name is Roy, am I right?"

"Mhm. How did you know?" He replied flatly, engrossed with his book.

"Alexandria likes to talk about you." Roy smiled at this as he continued to read. And from the smile he had on for a long while after, Evelyn learned just how much that the little girl meant to him.

"And you're nurse Evelyn." He said.

"How'd you-" She paused then realized. "Alexandria." She said as Roy placed down his book to look at her. "You know, you're her favourite nurse." He said, turning to her with a knowing smile.

Evelyn smiled too, albeit sheepishly. "I didn't really know that." For a few moments she didn't say anything else but for some reason, she wanted to stay and talk some more.

"I've heard about what happened between the two of you." She continued.

Roy froze as he remembered exactly what had happened and felt troubled coming up with anything to say. Finally, as his heart sank, he replied. " I didn't mean to ever hurt her. I just wanted to get her to do something for me."

His deep expression made her regret asking. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't poke into other people's business." Evelyn looked at how Roy breathed in deeply, pausing before he spoke.

"It's okay. I just, shouldn't have done that to her."

"Well, people make mistakes all the time. You could.." Evelyn trailed off, trying to find the right words to ease the tension he was building up. "learn from those mistakes and start over." She finally said and smiled.

"Yep. Never ask a five year old to get morphine from the Dispensary." He laughed dryly. Evelyn's eyes grew wide, disturbed by the man's resolution and weird dark sense of humour. Seeing her mortified look, he countered the earlier quip. "I'm joking. I love that kid. She's very brave. Witty too."

A little relieved, Evelyn looked down and smirked. "_Little bandit_." She murmured.

" What did you just say?" Roy quirked a brow as he propped himself up into a comfortable sitting position.

"Huh? What?" Evelyn said; unaware that she had sparked his interest.

"You just called her 'little bandit'."

"Oh, um…"

Roy's smile grew as he came to a realization. "You've also been listening in on our conversations, haven't you?"

"It's hard not to." She admitted. Roy was smiling from ear to ear. He never expected anyone else to listen.

"I made up a story once, with a princess in it. Alexandria made you that princess."

"Hah. No way. Did she now? What did she make you?" She said.

"I was… the 'Red Bandit'." Roy replied, making grand gestures that made the nurse laugh.

"She really is something, Roy." Evelyn said as she shook her head in amusement.

"Yes, she is." He said; solemnity making its way back into their conversation.

" Honestly, I never knew how special she really was." Evelyn spoke lowly.

"All kids are special." Roy said.

" Yeah. I know. What I mean was, I used to think all kids think the same way." Evelyn continued, idly looking at the opposite wall. "But Alexandria. I never really noticed it before, but, there's something strangely surreal about her. I think you know that more than I do." She finally turned towards the man that had leaned in a little closer.

"She saved my life." Roy quietly spoke. In return, Evelyn could only look back, seeing the deep complex emotion in his eyes. She knew the story and he told her how it ended.

"Evelyn." A voice called out from the doorway. It was the doctor.

"We need more staff down at the ER." He said.

"Oh, alright, I'll be right there. Let me take care of this first." She replied, holding up the tray. As soon as he left, Evelyn turned to Roy. "Um, I'm sorry, I have to leave.. He's my- I mean the"

"Your boyfriend." Roy stated; the intensity in eyes, wiped off. Confused, she was about to ask when he immediately answered. "Alexandria."

"Oh, okay. I've got to go." Evelyn said as she reached the door. Roy breathed out, going back to his proper sitting position and holding up his book.

"Um, Roy." She spoke tentatively. Once more, he looked up, brows raised in question. " It was nice talking to you. And, about what you said, I don't think you should keep blaming yourself. I know that she cares about you very much. So make it count. " Evelyn smiled at him reassuringly then walked out.

As she made her way outside, she couldn't help but feel sentimental; smiling softly as she thought of their meaningful conversation.

Roy, whom she had left so suddenly, frowned as he pondered at what she had told him. What the princess had just told the red bandit.

Soon after, the center of their talk had finally returned with an apple in her hand.

"They ran out of oranges." She said, having the same naïve expression she had always carried.

Roy took the apple and contemplated for a bit. He turned to his little friend, seeing the innocence in her eyes and the soulfulness of it. Smiling to himself and making room for Alexandria, he knew he had to _make it count._

**There you have it. XD My first one-shot yaaay. Lets go give her a prize. :V **


End file.
